


Accidental Challenge

by ABrighterDarkness



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Card Games, Challenges, First Kiss, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, M/M, Motorcycles, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:29:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21887473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ABrighterDarkness/pseuds/ABrighterDarkness
Summary: Steve tells the story of his last OP against HYDRA before the ice.  Tony takes the excitement over the upgrades Howard had made to Steve's motorcycle as a challenge and steals Steve's bike to make a few upgrades of his own.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 11
Kudos: 169





	Accidental Challenge

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea while rewatching CAFA. I saw all the things that they outfitted Steve's bike with for that last op and wondered what kind of things Tony might do to Steve's bike in an attempt to out do Howard. This is the result. Enjoy!

It had become somewhat normal, a routine even, that every so often the team stuck around the tower and spent the evening just being together. It was nice. Tony was sure it was something he had never had before and certainly never thought he  _ could _ have. It shouldn’t work. They were all so  _ different _ . Yet somehow this messy group just fell into place.

The team was scattered around the table set up near the kitchen on the common floor of the tower, leaning lazily into their seats and, for some, into each other. Natasha was reclined in her chair, legs stretched out and her small feet crossed in Clint’s lap as she stared at the three cards in her hands. Clint had his six cards face down on the table, momentarily forgotten as he dug into the bowl of mixed types of M&M’s--he always sought out the peanut ones. 

Thor had left earlier in the day with a passing mumble that Tony was reasonably certain contained ‘Jane’ somewhere in the mix. But Bruce was leaning forward, elbows on the table seeming to stare through his cards--also three--as much as at them. Steve was seated to Tony’s right, leaned back comfortably into the chair. He frowned slightly, index finger tapping thoughtfully on the top edge of his handful of cards--Tony counted twelve, Bruce was vicious with those draw twos and draw fours--before he shrugged and dropped a red four on top of the yellow four in the pile at the center of the table.

Tony bit down a grin at the three cards in his own hand, dropping a wild card on the top of the pile. “Blue,” he said, reaching across the table to grab a small handful of chips from the bowl that had been placed next to the cards.

“Hey Tash,” Clint said suddenly. “Remember that one op, they hired that new guy and he kept trying to change the colors of your kit?”

Natasha’s lips twitched somewhere between a smile and a grimace. “Prague,” she answered with a scoff as she dropped her blue eight into the card pile. “Not just my kit either. All of my undercover clothes were a veritable rainbow that entire op.”

“Spent the entire time complaining about standing out too much,” Clint said with a small giggle that turned into a grunt when Nat kicked one of her feet into his abdomen in retaliation. He pinned her feet in one hand and flicked a green eight to land onto the pile. Bruce had to draw three cards until he could play, a green three.

Beside Tony, Steve grimaced as he tossed his yellow three, “I know a little bit about that. Do you know how hard it is to blend into  _ forests _ when they had me forced into that uniform they had me decked in? Thank god Phillips and Pegs had more sense than the rest of them and got me into something a little more reasonable.”

“I’d have just shoved you into the nearest mud pit,” Natasha shrugged with a smirk. “Cheaper that way.”

Steve grinned wistfully and Tony cocked his head curiously dropping a red three on top of Steve’s yellow one. “Falsworth actually said about the same thing on the way back from Azzano,” Steve said and then winced. “Gabe and Buck made it happen. Not that I fought it too much, we all needed the laughter after that nightmare.”

“Which led you to taking out heavily guarded HYDRA bases left and right with less than a dozen men,” Clint pointed out with a grin. After a pause his expression turned thoughtful. “Must’ve been surreal.”

“That’s one word for it,” Steve said.

“Uno, Tony. Draw four,” Nat said absently before turning her attention back to Steve. Tony scowled but did as instructed.

Steve smirked at him and Tony narrowed his eyes playfully because it wasn’t like Steve didn’t still have a whole handful, Steve shrugged slightly to Clint, “Azzano was...it was terrifying. I mean, I grew up getting in scrapes in back alleys from the age of five. But the war...that’s an entirely different beast. Azzano really made that sink in. What the Howlies and I did...it was necessary but it wasn’t anywhere near as clean cut as I’ve read about since I woke up.”

“It never is,” Bruce agreed thoughtfully.

Steve nodded in his direction and shrugged, “Our plans didn’t always go as smoothly as we’d hoped. That last one though…” his grin was both painful and satisfied as he drifted off.

“The one that ended with you crashing the Valkyrie?” Clint asked, scowling at Natasha when she kicked him again. “What? He brought it up first.”

“Tact, Barton,” Natasha rolled her eyes. “It is a thing.”

“It’s fine, Nat,” Steve waved her off with a small smile. “And, yeah, that one. Aside from the way it ended, obviously, it might have well been scripted for how well it went.” He paused then and Tony frowned in confusion at the brief apologetic smile sent his way but said nothing. It was exceedingly rare that they managed to get Cap to talk about his life before the ice and Tony really didn’t feel like it would be fair to anyone to interrupt the flow now. 

“Pegs and Phillips got us what intel they could. And Howard--” Ah, that’s what the preemptive apology was for. Tony had begun to notice that everytime Steve brought his father up in conversation, as rare as it was, he would do that. Silently apologize beforehand. Tony wasn’t sure what to make of that, honestly. He brought his attention back sharply, suddenly curious as to what his father contributed to this apparently perfect op. “Howard got creative,” Steve said with a grin. “Got a hold of my bike.”

“Your  _ bike? _ ” Tony repeated incredulously. What could Howard have done to a motorcycle that earned that bright of a grin? Tony felt a familiar wash of jealousy rush over him.  _ He _ wanted that grin. He never got that with the multitude of suit upgrades. What the hell.

Steve nodded, putting his cards face down on the table and dropping his hands into his lap as he continued to grin at the memory. “Between him and the other SSR engineers. Shoulda seen it. A no-shit  _ flamethrower _ ,” he laughed almost giddily at the thought. “Grenade launchers and trip lines. Even turned the thing into a goddamned  _ bomb _ to blow the doors.”

“I’m surprised it was able to move,” Tony frowned somewhat spitefully, his mind immediately pulling schematics for the bike Steve had used and plugging in the upgrades made to it. Wait a minute. If he just--Tony’s frown deepened in thought until he caught Natasha watching him with a brow arched in question and he quickly smoothed out the expression. But his mind wasn’t quite as easily silenced. 

“But weren’t you caught, Cap?” Clint frowned. Though Tony could tell that he was equally surprised by the sudden openness from the usually stoically silent man.

“Yup,” Steve answered proudly as though getting captured on an op was a  _ good thing _ . He shrugged, “but that was part of the plan. Once I was in and in place...the other Howlie’s--” he winced and his grin faded slightly. Tony immediately recalled that it wasn’t  _ all _ the Howling Commandos at that point, they had been down at least one. Barnes. So the faded expression made sense, he supposed. “The other Howlies were able to play their part,” Steve finished smoothly. “And it worked...at least up to the end.” He smiled again, that wistful thing he did on those rare occasions when he talked about something from his past. 

Steve shifted in his seat as though suddenly feeling uncomfortably exposed and picked up his cards, staring blankly at their colorful surfaces, “And then Schmitt took off, Pegs and Phillips stole his car to get me on board and the rest was pretty accurately reported.”

Natasha tossed a blue four on to the stack and said “Uno,” with a smirk, holding her single remaining card up with a smirk. Steve huffed a laugh and shot her a grateful smile for breaking the sudden awkwardness. They all fell back into the game with a shifting sense of comradery. It was as though getting Steve Rogers to open up to them just that little bit somehow pulled them all that much closer. 

Hours later, when they finally called an end to the games, leaving the emptied snack bowls until morning, and separated off to their own rooms. Tony made his way to the lab, his mind still stuck on the story Steve had told and, more importantly, that  _ grin _ . 

“I should leave it alone, shouldn’t I?” Tony asked, expression twisting with uncertainty. But  _ that grin _ . That grin couldn’t belong to  _ Howard _ . And that giddy laugh over a flamethrower? Tony knew he could do better than that. There had been seventy years of technology development since then and he was Tony Stark. Of course he could do better than that. 

The question was  _ should he _ ? Tony hesitated for a moment and scoffed at himself. Steve all but dared him. In front of everyone, at that. Going on and on about Howard’s creativity and damn near giggling like a kid on Christmas morning over Stark magic that wasn’t  _ his _ . Bouncing on his heels, Tony nodded to himself and clapped his hands together, “J’ pull up the schematics for Cap’s bike, pretty please. Oh and pull together everything you can find from Dad’s records about the one they put together for that op that Steve was talking about earlier. Side by side comparison.”

Tony dropped into his chair and observed the displays where they hovered in front of him. “Think NYPD would have a problem with Captain America’s bike sporting a flame thrower, JARVIS?”

“I suspect they would take more affront to a flame thrower than they have the Captain’s nonexistent driver’s license,” the AI replied.

“Yeah you’re probably--wait, Cap doesn’t have a license?”

“Captain Rogers has never held a license in the state of New York or elsewhere.”

“Huh,” Tony frowned thoughtfully. “That’s something. Not the point though. Nanotech, J’. Let’s roll with that for now.” He leaned forward and pulled the image of Steve’s current bike closer and stretched his hands a part to enlarge it. “Wait. Cap’s obviously an adrenaline junkie. We need to increase the speed capabilities. Nitro? We’ll get to that. How hard do you think it would be to hide the bike in here for a week or two?”

“I cannot say with certainty that the Captain won’t seek it out but we may be able to have two or three days before he notices it is missing.”

“Two or three days? I’ll take it, we’ll improvise when he starts getting suspicious,” Tony grinned.

JARVIS’s estimations were, of course, correct. Tony was in the kitchen waiting for his mug to fill with fresh coffee when he heard the elevator open. His mind was still running through the most recent calculations and he didn’t think anything of the new arrival until he heard Steve’s question.

“Hey Nat,” he said, frowning slightly in frustration. “D’you happen to know where my bike might’ve gotten moved to?”

“Your bike?” Natasha repeated. “I haven’t heard anything but I’ll keep an ear out?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Steve said with a sigh. “Heading out for a bit but it looks like I’m walking. Wanna join?”

“No, I’ve got a couple things to take care of myself today,” Natasha declined. Steve nodded easily and left again with an absent wave goodbye. As soon as the elevator door closed Natasha swung her gaze from the doors to Tony, pinning him with a look and an arched brow. “His bike? Really, Tony?”

“No idea what you’re talking about,” Tony answered airily. At her disbelieving glance he grimaced slightly and shrugged, “Maybe I know something about it.”

“What are you trying to do here, Tony?” She asked curiously, though her tone made it sound as though she already knew the answer.

“You heard him! All bright and giddy over that damned bike,” Tony said insistently. “That  _ grin _ , Nat. I want it. It’s gonna be mine. Just you watch.”

Natasha a slow smirk worked across her face and tilted her head knowingly, “And that’s what you want? His  _ grin? _ ”

“Yes,” Tony nodded determinedly. “And I’m going to get it.”

“Just the grin, huh?” 

“Well, one of this giddy giggles wouldn’t hurt my pride any,” Tony said thoughtfully, a smile working across his expression as he thought about it.

“Uh huh,” her tone was disbelieving again and he frowned at her in question. “Wow. I thought it was just willfulness but it’s actually ignorance. I can work with that.”

“Ignorance? What?” Tony blinked in confusion, his mind went surprisingly blank for a moment as he tried to catch up with whatever she was attempting to say. “Okay, Itsy Bitsy, you’re going to have to give me a little more than that.”

She smiled at him in a way that bordered entirely too close to patronizing for Tony’s tastes and he mustered up a glare in response. She just laughed and shook her head, “I swear watching you two try to keep each others’ attention is like watching kids on a playground pulling pigtails. In two grown men? Adorably pathetic.” She got up from the couch with a smirk and another amused shake of her head and left him to stew on her words. 

Tony did his best to put Natasha’s odd comments out of his head as he made his way back to the workshop, coffee in hand. The bike was actually coming along beautifully. Tony couldn’t help the excitement that burst through him as he read through the new schematics of Steve’s bikes. The upgrades and new capabilities. 

An overprotective adrenaline junkie like Steve Rogers had to appreciate the masterpiece.  _ Had to _ . If this didn’t earn one of those grins, Tony wasn’t sure what would. 

He had just finished running the final simulations and buttoning everything into place when JARVIS alerted him to Steve’s imminent arrival to the workshop. Tony froze. Well, the bike  _ was  _ done but he had really hoped to have a better presentation set up. He looked down at himself and grimaced, preferably a presentation that didn’t include him being covered in oil, grease, and other questionable substances.

“Hey Tony,” Steve called as the doors to the workshop slid open. “I was just wondering if--is that my bike?”

Tony paused long enough to take into account the man’s tone and body language. He didn’t  _ sound _ angry, more wary. Tony grinned and grabbed a somewhat clean rag from the tool-covered cart beside him and absently began wiping inefficiently at the mess on his hands. “Uh-yeah. That would be your bike, Cap.”

“What did you do to it?” Steve asked, approaching cautiously as though one wrong move might make it explode on him. Which was unfair. Things Tony made only exploded when he meant for them to. Usually. Sometimes. Okay, maybe he wasn't entirely off-base in bracing for unexpected explosions.

“Most of it was adapting Nanotech to do what I wanted to do,” Tony said, tilting his head in thought and then waved him over closer to the bike. “Here, get on and start her up.”

“What?” Steve asked in confusion. Despite the mild protest, he followed instructions easily enough and swung one leg over to straddle the bike, shifting until he was seated comfortably, reaching to turn the key until the engine roared to life and settled into a heady purr.

Tony’s eyebrows shot up at the sight and he swallowed thickly. Because it was one thing to know that Cap rode a bike, it was another thing to  _ see _ that image. And wow, yeah, that one was going to stick with him for a while. Tony shook himself from those thoughts and moved closer until he stood next to the motorcycle's front tire. “I had to code the Nanotech to you. Only you can operate most of the functions unless you give permissions and give someone else access.”

“Oh,” Steve blinked in surprise and stared down at the motorcycle under him for a moment. “So what’s it do?”

Tony was honestly surprised at the hint of eagerness lacing the question. He had thoroughly expected frustration, irritation, and even some anger. He had fully anticipated having to explain himself and find a way to apologize for not asking permission when he wasn’t  _ actually _ sorry. The seemingly open acceptance threw him and it took a moment of staring blankly at the man for his thoughts to click back into place.

Excitement sparked once again and Tony bounced on his toes slightly and indicated to a small panel near where Steve’s left thumb would rest if he were gripping the handle bars. “That,” he began. “Will activate the Nanotech capabilities. I thought that for Ops, you take this as often as you do a jet. Taking that into consideration...swipe straight down on the panel. Doesn’t have to be perfectly precise just swipe down.”

Steve did as told and his eyes widened in surprise when the familiar sight of nanobots began to spread from the gas cap--which, incidentally, had been replaced with a miniature, glowing replica of his shield. “ _ Oh _ ,” he murmured in awe. 

“So, obviously, it does more than just  _ look _ cool,” Tony grinned, feeling giddy about the response so far. “For starters, I outfitted the headlight. With the nanobots, you’ve effectively got repulsor tech, if you need to use it. Not wholly your style, but it fit so well with the whole aesthetic that I couldn’t help myself.” 

“Now. Think you’re going to like this,” he continued eagerly. “Swipe up.” When Steve silently complied, the nanobots shifted and reformed.

“Tony,” Steve breathed, eyes wide in excitement. “Tell me you just gave me what I think you just gave me.”

“Well, it’s not quite a flamethrower, if that’s what you’re hoping for,” Tony grinned. “I mean, it  _ is _ but, again nanotech powered. No bombs or grenades but I do still have more to show you.” Tony shifted forward and automatically reached to pull Steve’s hands back onto the handlebars. “Gonna want to hold on for this part.”

“Alright,” Tony said, taking a few steps backwards. “A circle on the panel.”

Steve readily complied once again and watched with curious anticipation as the nanobots reformed over the bike again and suddenly the familiar sound of repulsors filled the room and the bike slowly rose from its parked position. Steve’s eyes went wide and he scrambled to get his feet on the pegs and held onto the handlebars. After a brief moment of instinctive panic, Steve hesitantly adjusted his posture and his grip and applied gentle acceleration, carefully steering the bike into a circle through the shop. 

Tony took a moment to pause and soak in the view of a very happy Captain, if the gleeful laugh was any indication. After a moment, he shifted and picked up one of the wrenches from the cart and tilted his head. When Steve turned the bike back to face him, Tony threw the wrench and Steve’s eyes widened in surprise at the tool flying towards his face. Before it could impact, however, the nanobots reformed into a replica of the shield and took the hit, much like its original counterpart would do had Steve had it on him. 

Steve pulled the bike to a stop in front of Tony once more and looked down, “How do I get it back down?”

“A circle again,” Tony answered. “ _ Slowly _ though, unless you want to just drop out of the air.”

Steve winced at the thought and traced a small, slow circle on the panel and the bike descended back to the ground. He took a brief moment to ensure the kickstand was in place and turned the key on the bike to turn it off, leaving the workshop suddenly quiet. He sat on the bike staring blankly at it for a moment.

Tony began to grow worried as the silence stretched. Hesitantly, he reached out and rested a hand on Steve’s shoulder, frowning when he felt the tremble in the muscles under his hand. “Steve?”

“God,  _ Tony _ ,” he managed, voice quiet yet strained. “I don’t even--I don’t--,” he exhaled, shakily. “This--this is  _ amazing _ .” 

Tony squeezed his shoulder and grinned softly, “Hoped you’d think so.”

Steve shifted suddenly, knocking Tony’s hand loose and taking Tony’s shoulders in large hands and pushing him backwards slightly. Tony’s eyes widened, worried again for some reason he couldn’t place. Before he could question it, Steve was scrambling off of the bike and standing right in front of him, close enough that the space between them was a matter of inches. 

“I-I need to hug you now,” Steve said insistently before heavy arms were wrapping tightly around Tony’s shoulders and tugging him in to do just that. Tony started in surprise but laughed lightly, letting go of the tension that had been building. His own arms worked their way around Steve’s waist. “Thank you, Tony.”

“It was nothing, Cap,” Tony assured him. “It was fun, actually.”

Steve was immediately shaking his head in disagreement. “No, you don’t get it. No one...no one’s done something like this...for me. Not just because they wanted to. Everything you create is amazing but...I-I really don't even know how to explain it. Just... _ thank you. _ ”

“How could I not,” Tony shrugged. “Especially after hearing how excited you got just talking about your old one. It had you grinning like a loon and you don’t do that nearly enough. It’s my pleasure, really.”

Steve withdrew from the hug and stepped backwards to give a little more space between them that Tony suddenly realized he really didn’t want. He eyed Tony speculatively and then ducked his head and grinned in a way that could only be described as shyly. It was an odd expression that Tony hadn’t witnessed before but tugged at something deep in him. “You’re really something else, Tony,” Steve finally said in a quiet voice.

“Yup, one of a kind,” Tony grinned.

“I do have a question though. About the bike?” Steve said, tilting his head slightly and frowning.

“Okay?” Tony responded hesitantly.

“The nanotech,” Steve started, glancing over his shoulder at the bike before looking back to him. “It’s not red.”

Tony blinked in confusion, attempting to find the question in the statement. “No. Figured it’s your bike it should be your colors so I programmed them to be blue.”

“Oh,” Steve said, something odd in his tone.

“I could...I could add some red to it? If you wanted?” Tony hedged, attempting to stamp down the possessive and proprietary urges that arose. Not over the colors. He didn’t give a damn if Steve wanted to use more red in the nanobike. No, it was more that  _ Steve _ seemed to want more of  _ Tony’s _ colors in his possession. 

“Would you? Please?”

Now there was a thought. Suddenly, Natasha’s words came back to him.  _ “I swear watching you two try to keep each others’ attention is like watching kids on a playground pulling pigtails.” _

Maybe she was onto something. At least, from Tony’s end anyway. “I--yeah, sure thing,” Tony managed to stumble out. It was worth the fumbled words considering the bright grin he got in response. Deciding to continue pushing is luck--as though stealing a man’s motorcycle and tinkering with it without permission wasn’t pressing enough, because of course it wasn’t--Tony stepped forward, closing the space between them again. He could see Steve tense just slightly and his eyes were intensely studying each movement he made. 

Another shy grin worked over Steve’s expression then though, this one had a slightly mischievous tint to it. “Want to take her for a test run with me?” Steve asked, head cocked to the side in question.

The image hit Tony like a wave and he couldn’t help but stare wide eyed as he pictured himself seated behind Steve on that monster of a motorcycle that Steve managed to control with virtually no problem. Tony cleared his throat roughly and rocked back on his heels. His mouth, as usual, took off without permission from his brain, “Sure, why not.”

The bright grin that Steve flashed him soothed some of the rising panic Tony felt at the impending positions. Tony glanced down at himself again and winced, “Maybe let me clean up first? Don’t think you want a mess all over your shirt.”

Steve stared at him intently for a moment, a deep flush rising curiously over his cheeks. He dropped his gaze and nodded quickly, “Yeah, no problem. I’ll-uh-I’ll meet you in the garage?” It wasn’t until Tony was redressing after a quick but thorough shower that he realized the unintentional innuendo that Steve had reacted to. That was...that was interesting.

Steve grinned brightly--see, Tony  _ knew _ the upgrades would earn that grin--when Tony made his way into the garage from where he was seated casually against the bike. “Ready?” He asked, eagerly.

“Sure,” Tony agreed, watching as Steve stood and swung his leg back over the seat and lifted the bike from the kickstand and starting the engine. Once he was settled, he glanced over expectantly to Tony. Right, Tony was supposed to be on the bike too. Tony planted one hand on his nearest shoulder and managed to get himself settled before awkwardly trying to figure out what to do with his hands.

Steve smirked at him over his shoulder, reaching behind to take a hold of Tony’s wrists and pulling until his arms were snug around Steve’s torso. Without giving Tony the opportunity to adjust--or protest--Steve wrenched on the accelerator and they tore out of the garage.

He put the bike through the paces with Tony clinging to him. Tony immediately decided that his conclusion that the man was an adrenaline junkie was absolutely and undeniably correct. Thankfully, he was considerate enough to indicate with a quick, light squeeze to Tony’s hands when he was about to do something a little extra...well  _ extra. _ The squeeze being an indicator that he might want to hold tight. Tony found that he had no problems at all following that directive.

It was roughly an hour and a half later that they pulled off into a neglected rest area. Steve rolled the bike to a stop near the far edge of the parking lot and keyed off the motor and held the bike still while he helped Tony to climb off the back. He settled it onto the kickstand and got off himself. 

“You drive like a maniac, Rogers. No wonder you don’t have a license,” Tony said teasingly.

Steve grinned and shrugged, “Didn’t need one before and SHIELD apparently decided I didn’t need one after either. I mean, the only thing I drive is my bike.” 

“Probably because they know you’d never pass the driving test,” Tony quipped. 

“On a car, you’d probably be right,” Steve admitted. “I don’t know though. Never tried.”

“Wait.” Tony blinked, rerunning through the short conversation. “You’ve never driven a car?

“Nope.”

“No worries, we’ll fix that,” Tony shrugged and then abruptly shifted the conversation back to the bike. “How’d she handle?”

“Like a dream,” Steve replied immediately with a smile. “I really can’t thank you enough, Tony.” 

“You’re happy, I’m happy,” Tony smirked. “All the thanks I need.”

“I-I was thinking,” Steve hedged.

“That’s always a risky prospect.”

Steve narrowed his eyes playfully at the quip but ducked his head shyly once again, “Yeah, sometimes. But I was thinking and was wonderin’. You know, we’re already out.”

“We are,” Tony agreed, his confusion obvious in his tone and the way he drew out the words.

“Right,” Steve winced, flush rising over his face again. “I just meant that--on the way back we might--.” Steve huffed in annoyance, apparently with himself. He shifted his stance and lifted his head, setting his jaw in determination. “On the way back, when we get back into the city. Let me take you to dinner?”

Tony blinked in surprise and sucked in a short breath in surprise. He hadn’t expected  _ that _ . But-- “As a thank you, you mean?”

Steve studied him for a short moment and then gave a short shrug, “Not what I was going for but it could be that. If you want.”

“If I want?” Tony repeated. “Wait. Steve, are you asking me on a date?”

The man took a slow deep breath and swallowed thickly before taking a few strides forward until he was in Tony’s space again. Tony watched his expression soften fondly and he hesitantly reached for Tony’s hands. “Tony, let me take you to dinner,” he said again tone level and serious with more confidence in his voice than the first time. “Please,” he added, hands tightening slightly where they held onto Tony’s. 

Tony was sure that his own grin was quite nearly as bright as Steve’s had been when they had been exploring the new capabilities of the bike. “Yeah, I mean, yes. That sounds-that sounds like a great idea.” He paused and his brow furrowed in hesitation, “And  _ not _ just as a thank you right? ‘Cause you really don’t have to do anything to thank me. You’ve thanked me. We’re good on that note. So if it’s just--”

Tony’s nervous rambling was cut off with the press of lips against his own and, after the split moment of surprised stillness, a small, pleased sound escaped him and he sunk into the kiss. Large hands released his and moved up to frame his jaw on either side and Steve withdrew from the kiss, smiling fondly. “I’ve been wondering for  _ ages _ if that would actually work,” he said, softly but thoughtfully. “And no, genius,  _ not _ as a thank you.”

“No, no, I change my mind,” Tony said immediately, watching Steve with wide eyes. “I definitely, definitely need thanked. Absolutely. Lots of hard work and Stark magic. Definitely deserves thanks. Unfortunately for you, I’ll only accept the thanks in the form of more of those--”

Steve’s warm laughter interrupted another string of rambling before surging forward and kissing him again. Tony wondered if this might actually be better than even coffee. A very close thing, at least. He gave his hands permission to move and they shifted under the heavy leather jacket to rest against Steve’s waist over the thin t-shirt. This time, when he pulled back from the kiss, Steve tugged him into a brief hug, “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to take you on that date now.”

With Tony’s agreement, they clammered back onto the bike and slowly rolled towards the highway. Tony grinned, realizing that he’d forgotten something. “Hey, when we’re back on the highway. Swipe down to activate the nanobots and then three taps on the panel.”

Steve paused for a moment before nodding in understanding, his curiosity was nearly palpable and Tony tucked his head against the broad back in front of him to smother his grin. When they got onto the highway, Tony pressed closer and held on tighter in anticipation when he felt the nanobots activate. And suddenly the bike took off, the nanotech version of nitro sending them speeding down the interstate.

Tony could both hear and feel Steve’s delighted laughter and squeezed his arms, flattening his hands against his chest.

Grins, giddy laughter, hugs, kisses, and most importantly a  _ date _ . Take that Howard.


End file.
